Fashion tips for women 50+

“Cyber Monday” may have come and gone, but sales-alert season is just getting started. So how can you keep your credit cards from lapsing into a coma by New Year’s Day? Prioritize, girlfriend! Or, if you’re like me, rephrase that to “make your girlfriends a priority.” They’ve been with you through thick and thin — which I define as kids and careers, dating and divorce — so they deserve to be at the top of your gift list (and mine). …

I may be over 50 on the outside, but in my mind I’m still a fun, wild, youthful babe. A lot of us must feel the same way, too; why else would we get tiny tattoos or wear navy polish and black bras (instead of nice-girl nude ones)? Inevitably, however, there comes that MFR (moment of fashion reckoning) when we wonder, “Am I too old for this?” If you have recently experienced an MFR of your own, here’s how to …

Most hoarders don’t get their very own fashion retrospective at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, yet Iris Apfel did in 2005. This super-inspiring former textile designer is known for her colorful approach to clothes and more is more attitude towards style. Apfel did help restore the White House for nine Presidents including Reagan and Clinton, but what really knocks me out, is the ability to recycle her own closet (she never tosses anything out!) as she ramps up …

When I interviewed Diane von Furstenberg for my book, The Best of Everything After 50, one of the best pieces of advice she gave me was this: don’t waste time and money by shopping for clothes on your own. Get help! Make a terrific ‘personal shopper’ your new best friend. Since I would rather empty the dishwasher than go shopping, I was intrigued by the idea. Although I’ve lived in one of the shopping capitals of the world for over …

I learned something new recently: we’re born with a certain shape. Sure, we can go up and down in size, but the basic silhouette seems to stick. Somewhere along the line, some clever soul decided that those of us with a little more in the middle could be compared with an “apple” or those with a bottom that’s, shall we say, overly endowed, a “pear.” For sure we want to try to maintain a healthy weight, especially as we get …

When Helen Mirren, 67, turned up with punky-pink hair at the BAFTA awards in London, we cheered. When Maggie Smith, 78, admitted to being “spiky” and using the f-word a lot during her 60 Minutes interview, we laughed. We adore Helena Bonham Carter, 46, for her off-beat ensembles like wacky Madame Thenardier’s in Les Miserables. Trudie Styler, 59, wears leather and clingy dresses to save the Rain Forest and keeps Sting going after thirty years! Even the Queen is cool …